Katherine Elaine Hendrix (born December 28, 1970) is an American actress. She is known for her roles in ''

Dynasty A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family, usually in the context of a monarchy, monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A dynasty may also be referred to as a "house", "family" or "clan", among others. H ...

,'' '' Superstar'', '' Romy and Michele's High School Reunion'', the 1995 ''

Get Smart ''Get Smart'' is an American comedy television series parodying the Spy fiction, secret agent genre that had become widely popular in the first half of the 1960s with the release of the ''James Bond'' films. It was created by Mel Brooks and Bu ...

'' series, the 1998 remake of '' The Parent Trap'', '' Inspector Gadget 2'', and the 2004 pseudoscience film '' What the Bleep Do We Know!?''

Early life

Hendrix was born and raised in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Her father was serving in the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

at the time of her birth and had little input into her name. Her mother named her Katherine Elaine, but most of her relatives called her by her middle name, and the practice stuck.

Career

Dancing and modelling

In her senior year of high school, Hendrix won a model search and became a professional dancer with the Gary Harrison Dance Company. She soon split her time as a professional model and dancer for such companies as Nike, Levi's,

Mattel Mattel, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational corporation, multinational toy manufacturing and entertainment company headquartered in El Segundo, California. Founded in Los Angeles by Harold Matson and the husband-and-wife duo of Ruth Handler, ...

, and

Sun Microsystems Sun Microsystems, Inc., often known as Sun for short, was an American technology company that existed from 1982 to 2010 which developed and sold computers, computer components, software, and information technology services. Sun contributed sig ...

, and for a number of

hip-hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hi ...

artists including Whodini,

Keith Sweat Keith Sweat (born July 22, 1961) is an American singer, producer and songwriter. An early figure in the new jack swing musical movement, he is known for his collection of hits including "I Want Her," "Make It Last Forever (song), Make It Last For ...

and MC Hammer. In 1992, she moved to

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, and, shortly after, was hit by a car while riding her bike, ending her early career as a model and dancer.

Film and television

After recuperating from her accident, Hendrix was cast in the short-lived 1995 ''

'' series. She has also appeared on the television series '' Joan of Arcadia'', ''

Friends ''Friends'' is an American television sitcom created by David Crane (producer), David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994, to May 6, 2004, lasting List of Friends episodes, ten seasons. With an ensemble cast ...

'', '' Ellen'', '' Charmed'' and '' CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'' and had a recurring role in '' Married... with Children'', ''User Friendly'' (1995) and ''Lez Be Friends'' (1997). Films in which she appeared include '' Romy and Michele's High School Reunion'', the 1998 remake of '' The Parent Trap'', '' Superstar'', '' Inspector Gadget 2'', and '' What the Bleep Do We Know!?''. In 2006, she also appeared in an episode of '' Ghost Whisperer'' and the movie '' Coffee Date''. In 2018, Hendrix appeared in ''Christmas at Pemberley Manor'', a Hallmark Channel feature TV movie. In 2008 Hendrix appeared in two episodes of the single-season ''

ABC Family American cable television, cable and satellite television network Freeform (TV channel), Freeform was originally launched as the CBN Satellite Service on April 29, 1977, and has gone through four different owners and six different name changes dur ...

'' show '' The Middleman'' as Roxy Wasserman, a succubus who works as a fashion designer. She was seen in a 2008 episode of '' Criminal Minds'' ("Normal"). In 2009 Hendrix made an appearance on the ABC show ''

Castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

'' and in the film '' Rock Slyde''. In 2011, Hendrix played Felicia in the Tribeca-awarded film '' Spork''. Hendrix has also appeared as Renee on '' 90210'' in season three in "They're Playing Her Song" and "Holiday Madness". In 2014, she appeared alongside

Charlie Sheen Carlos Irwin Estévez (born September 3, 1965), known professionally as Charlie Sheen, is an American actor. He is known as a leading man in film and television. Sheen has received numerous accolades including a Golden Globe Award as well as ...

for a three-episode story arc as Warden Hartley in the FX sitcom '' Anger Management''. She appears in the web-series ''Fetching'', which is also a nod to her love of animals. She also co-starred as Ava in the FX comedy series '' Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll'' with Denis Leary,

Elizabeth Gillies Elizabeth Egan Gillies (born July 26, 1993), also known as Liz Gillies, is an American actress and singer. She began her career as a teenager and made her Broadway theatre, Broadway debut in the Musical theatre, musical ''13 (musical), 13'' (200 ...

, John Corbett, Bobby Kelly and John Ales. On September 13, 2018, it was announced that Hendrix would appear as the recurring character Susan Andrews in the Fox series '' Proven Innocent''. In October 2019, Hendrix was cast as Alexis Carrington Colby for season three of

The CW The CW Network, LLC (commonly referred to as The CW or simply CW) is an American commercial broadcast television network which is controlled by Nexstar Media Group through a 75% ownership interest. The network's name is derived from the firs ...

's ''Dynasty'' reboot series.

Stage

Hendrix starred as Lisa in the cast of the

Off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...

play ''It's Just Sex'' at the Actors Temple Theatre in Manhattan for its June 2013 to January 2014 run. In 2016, Hendrix reprised the role of Truvy in '' Steel Magnolias'' at the Bucks County Playhouse in New Hope, Pennsylvania. This production was directed by four time Oscar nominee, Marsha Mason, and also starred Patricia Richardson, Lucy DeVito, Jessica Walter and Susan Sullivan. On June 9, 2016, this production became the highest-grossing show in the history of the Bucks County Playhouse.

Activism efforts

As an avid

animal rights Animal rights is the philosophy according to which many or all Animal consciousness, sentient animals have Moral patienthood, moral worth independent of their Utilitarianism, utility to humans, and that their most basic interests—such as ...

activist, Hendrix has been advocating for animals since 2006, when she also adopted a

vegan Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal products and the consumption of animal source foods, and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. A person who practices veganism is known as a ve ...

lifestyle. When she's not filming, she travels throughout North America and works with organizations around the globe to educate, demonstrate, speak, protest, build habitats, transport and rescue. In 2012 she founded The Pet Matchmaker, an organization dedicated to celebrating and inspiring the rescue, foster and adoption of homeless pets everywhere. She serves on the board of Stray Rescue of St. Louis as well as the US chapter of No to Dog Meat.

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hendrix, Elaine 1970 births Living people American film actresses American people of Italian descent American people of Irish descent American people of Danish descent American television actresses 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses Actresses from Tennessee American female dancers Dancers from Tennessee Female models from Tennessee People from Oak Ridge, Tennessee People from Morristown, Tennessee